The school learning centre conceived as an urban precinct

Carey Grammar School’s Centre for Learning Innovation (CLI) is a new facility designed to provide innovative and contemporary learning spaces for students and staff.

Conceived as an urban precinct rather than a single building, the project forges new connections with the existing Quadrangle and Chapel – the social and spiritual centres of the campus.

The CLI delivers a whole of school Library Resource Centre – a vibrant student hub integrating a range of services and resources to support learning and interaction – as well as spaces for Humanities and Science.

Founded on the principle that every square metre is a learning opportunity, it provides a rich variety of settings for different groupings of students and learning styles, with specialist learning and event spaces to encourage students to wonder and understand their place in the world.

The key objective was to provide an education environment that would allow the school to meet its strategic priorities for 21st century learning. After a series of briefing workshops, six educational design principles emerged:

Create contemporary learning environments – Every level of the CLI has been designed to maximise diversity of settings and spaces. A landscape of connected and purposeful settings has been created to support multi-modal learning.

Design excellence stimulating imagination – The building form is conceived as a ‘tree of knowledge’ with roots, trunk and branches linking spaces vertically and horizontally with integrated settings, stairs and display. The Imaginarium and Sandpit also facilitate experiential learning and exploration of new technologies.

Maximise connection to outdoor spaces – The CLI is seamlessly integrated with the semi-external quadrangle, enriching the existing space with the new seating steps. All elevated external links between the CLI and existing buildings provide purposeful outdoor learning areas.

Promote sustainability – The CLI has been designed to 4 Star Green Star specifications with all features, systems and data made visible to students through the BMS and ICT platforms.

Engender a sense of community and collaboration – Spaces in the CLI are designed to support a democratic community of learners. The many gathering places throughout the space enable discussion and a mutual exchange of ideas across disciplines and typical age level groupings.